


Lost in a Dream

by Mappelond



Category: MapleStory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 17:46:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8810116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mappelond/pseuds/Mappelond
Summary: When Mercedes vists Lacheln to train, she finds herself under a spell...





	1. Farewell, Elluel.

The queen of elves felt it had been ages since she had slept in her own bed. She stretched and yawned, but couldn't shake something was wrong with that dream. "There was a girl... I feel like I've seen her before but..." Mercedes rubbed her eyes and stood up. "Something isn't right. I've never seen that woman before, right? It's just a dream." She walked over and changed into normal clothes before heading out to check up on her people, or rather, those who remained unfrozen.

The blossoms from the huge tree in the middle of town gently fell, making Elluel a peaceful sight. The Elders were all scattered around town, making notes on how the area was doing despite the curse left by the Black Mage being still in place.

"Queen, you're awake." Philius commented as Mercedes walked up to him.

"Good morning, Philius." She smiled. "Did you three get enough sleep?"

Philius only sighed. "I can't speak for the other elders, but I had a strange dream about this woman clad in black."

Mercedes tilted her head. "Did she have pink and purple hair, by chance?"

Philius nodded.

"Strange, she appeared in my dream too." "

She didn't seem happy to see me, in fact it turned into a nightmare and alas, I couldn't gain any sleep."

_A nightmare?_ "Even more odd, she didn't seem vicious in my dream at all. If anything she... she was beckoning me.

Philius closed his eyes, as if thinking. "Perhaps we should stay on guard for such a lady."

"Right." Mercedes nodded. "I still can't help but wonder why she wasn't so harsh with me and she felt so..."

"Familiar?"

"Yes. As far as I'm concerned however, I've never seen a woman such as herself in my travels. I would have remembered someone in such attire with ease." Mercedes shook her head. "No matter, I will speak with Danika about this matter. Thank you for your time, Philius."

"It is not a problem, my lady." Philius took a short bow and off Mercedes went.

The Elder of War was no issue to find, Danika was by the training area, keeping her skills sharp to protect Elluel. "Danika?" Mercedes asked as she walked closer to the orange haired elf.

"Miss Mercedes! It's great to see you're up." Danika smiled. "What do you need?"

Mercedes proceeded to ask about the same girl who had appeared in Philius and her own dream. Danika's face grew into a look of surprise. 

"Yes, she did appear!" Danika answered. "You say she appeared in Philius's dreams too?"

Mercedes nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised now if she was in Astilda's dream."

"I think I did hear her complain about such a nightmare to Philius." Danika placed her hand on her chin in thought.

"That is strange that we would all have the same nightmare."

"Except mine _wasn't_ a nightmare."

"It wasn't?"

Mercedes shook her head.

"This is getting weirder and weirder..."

"Danika, I would like you to watch the borders and make sure such a woman does not get into town without being questioned. Understood?"

The Elder of War nodded. "You got it. I'll go check them right now, to be safe."

"Stay safe, Danika." Mercedes waved off the other elf and went back to town. "I should find Astilda next..." Mercedes traveled around the village until she came face to face with an elderly looking elf.

"My dear, it is good to see you." Astilda smiled. "I also have great news."

"What is it?"

"You're still training to become stronger like you once were?" Astilda got out a map. "This is a map to a fabled land where monsters roam about, I thought you might be interested."

Upon grabbing the map from the older elf, something inside of her seemed to be calling her name as she read the name  _Lachln_ on the paper.

"Mercedes, are you all right?" Astilda asked. "You suddenly grew pale..."

Mercedes held her head. "I... I am fine Astilda. Just, something about this place... it's worth checking out at least." Mercedes put the map into her pouch. "Thank you, Astilda."

"It is no problem. Just... please be careful going there."

"I will. I suppose I shall leave at once. Please, when Danika comes back from her duty, notify her of my departure."

"Understood." Astilda waved and saw Mercedes off.

While on her way to board a ship, Mercedes looked at the map once more. "Perhaps... perhaps I will find some answers about that dream here... Somehow this land is inviting."


	2. Welcome to the Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The queen of elves arrive in Lacheln, but... how long has she been there?

"Eat arrows, scum!" A rain of arrows covered the battlefield, killing hordes of monsters before they could even dare touch the queen. Mercedes huffed out a sigh of relief. "Finally, some time to consult the map..." She pulled out the map Astilda had gave her in Elluel days ago. "Isn't that far now... I'll be there in no time." She smiled as she returned the map to it's original pouch and continued on, crossbows at the ready. The dark creatures here were tough, yes, but Mercedes has faced far worse.

In the distance, a festival could be heard. Loud music was playing and several people could be heard yelling cheers. "Nearly there." Mercedes smiled. From what the map looked like, this was a town of joy and people celebrated very often. Seeing sorrowful faces there were probably rare there, if not perhaps even nonexistent. There were certainly strange creatures outside the town borders, at least...

The closer Mercedes got to the city of lights, the more loud the noise became. It almost became... unbearable. Mercedes got to the point where she only heard loud buzzing in her ears, and her above average hearing had no help. "I can't... keep up like this!" Mercedes began having issues firing, she was unfocused. Suddenly, she fell to the ground, knocked by a monster, the last thing she saw was a strange figure...

* * *

_"My goodness, is she all right?!"_

_"This woman still has a pulse..."_

_"Her eyes... are they opening?"_

Mercedes groaned. Where was she...? Her eyes opened and strange people in masks were surrounding her, worried.

"My dear, are you all right?" One asked, a black mask with a white rose sat upon her face.

Mercedes sat up, rubbing her head. "I am... fine... thank you."

"We found you on the town border, those dastardly beasts out there looked as if they were ready to make a meal out of you, dear!" A man with a mustache commented.

_This whole group did...? I only saw one person, though._ Mercedes got up and founded herself on the ground in a brightly lit town. After looking around, she turned to a little girl with a rabbit mask. "Miss, where am I?"

"Why, you're in  _ **Lacheln!**_ " The girl exclaimed. "The town of endless festivals!"

The queen had reached her destination.

The townsfolk were all eager to meet Mercedes.  _A new face! How exciting!_ They whispered. It seemed as if the whole town was around, awaiting to hear Mercedes talk about herself.

"Would you be so kind enough to introduce yourself?" A cat masked girl asked. "We always love seeing visitors!"

Mercedes took a deep breath. These people seemed harmless enough. "Very well... my name is Mercedes, queen of the elves."

_A queen?! An actual queen in our midst? We should feel honored!_ The crowd whispered.  _We should hold a party in honor of her arrival! Yes! Yes!_

Mercedes gave the crowd a kind smile. It felt strange, yet welcoming? She would be staying here a while, so why not befriend the locals? "Ah, pardon me, but there are also monsters outside the town, correct?"

"Why, of course lass!" A pie masked man laughed. "You can go face them if you want, they sometimes steal our supplies so it would be just grand for some help!"

Mercedes nodded. "Thank you. It will feel nice to also benefit you all while I am in your care." She got up.

"Stay safe dear, we'll get the festival preparations under away as you go and fight!" 

* * *

The crossbow user finally got to the outskirts of town, and saw many monsters. For now, though, she took to a safe area to gather her belongings.  _Something isn't right..._ She thought.  _Ever since I woke up here, something feels off. The people...? No..._ Mercedes sighed and rummaged through her sack to look at her belongings.

Something was off. Where did the map go? And these artifacts... they looked like they had been dropped from the monsters nearby. Mercedes felt butterflies in her stomach as she shakily picked up each item and inspected it. None of these things were here before, she hadn't even recognized them. She shook her head.  _I knew it... something isn't right here._

**_How long have I been here?_ **

The amount of items she had was staggering. It seemed as if she spent a whole hour or even more fighting these things but can't remember it! She quickly stuffed the items back in her bag and closed her eyes.  _I have a bad feeling about this but..._ Mercedes stood up, looking at the sky, her brilliant blue eyes laid upon the moon

**_"I'm going to find out what this town is hiding... before anyone else can suffer the same fate I seem to be!"_ **


End file.
